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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336457">Wings of Despair</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth/pseuds/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth'>Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abduction, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Digging Your Own Grave, Hostage Situations, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates, widower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:54:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth/pseuds/Silver_Shortage_in_Markarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Recently graduated from college, Armin Arlert comes across a most peculiar living situation. </p><p>In time, he and his former classmate (and now roommate) Connie may learn that a seemingly unremarkable location on the property...</p><p>Turns out to be concealing a most horrendous secret.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>past sasha blouse/connie springer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This ain't getting any of my other uncompletered writening shit wroted</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was underneath a near pitch-black and completely moonless sky that night, with only a few stars dotting the vast expanse, that the sounds of dirt being moved and pleading for clemency could be heard. </p><p>Two of the men, wearing hooded cloaks so dark-colored they looked like wraiths, watched with expressionless faces as the other two dug their own graves. Due to the lack of natural light about them, one of the cloaked men had set a lantern onto the ground. </p><p>It made their nasty business be not as messy as it could be, if nothing else. </p><p>"Please, don't do this!" One of the soon-to-be dead men said, pausing to clasp his hands together. "We won't tell anyone about what you're doing! I promise, we'll move far away from here and never bother you again! Just let us live!"</p><p>Next to him, his so-called friend (in reality, he didn't actually like him very much, especially now) was in an even worse condition. Whatever composure he might have once had was long gone. Now, all he could do while digging his hole was soil himself and blubber inelegantly. </p><p>"I told you the way we'd been going was the wrong way towards town!" He cried out to the other young man. "I said that we were supposed to head south, not east!" </p><p>"Shut up, Daz," the one begging for their lives told him while looking back at him. </p><p>"But noooo, Sam! You insisted on going east! Even on this friggin' huge piece of empty land, I thought you'd know something about cardinal directions-" </p><p>"Shut <strong><em>up, </em></strong>Daz!" </p><p>As the two were bickering, their former employers looked at each other and waited for them to settle down somewhat. When that didn't seem to be happening, the taller of the pair loudly cleared his throat. </p><p>"I would rather you focus more on the task at hand, gentlemen," he told them in a voice mixed with calmness and annoyance. "How sad that only now are either of you at all productive. In fact, your work ethics were so atrocious, I'd say killing you would be a relief for those back in town." </p><p>Out from underneath his hood, Sam and Daz could see his piercing blue eyes gaze upon them. It was so unsettling, that it made it harder for them to grip their shovels. Both of them sobbed, implored, and carried on. </p><p>All of it came to naught when they heard the shorter of the two say the words they'd been dreading the whole time: </p><p>"That's deep enough." </p><p>Both men stepped out of the holes, only to get down in front of them on their knees. They tried to pull themselves together as they felt their wrists bound together with thick, rough-hewn rope. By the time they were gagged and blindfolded, however, Sam and Daz gave that pretense up. They weren't even informed of when they felt the shovel bang each of them them upside the head. </p><p>This denied comfort would have done them little good anyway; Sam and Daz probably could still have somehow felt the dirt getting shoveled onto their unconscious bodies. </p><p>...</p><p>"Make absolutely certain that the graves blend in with the rest of this land," Erwin told Levi as he watched him tamp the dirt on top of the now refilled holes. "Even with as much square feet that we have on this property, there's no point in getting sloppy with anything."</p><p>He turned to stare upon the half-finished (but still no less grand) building that sat before them. Then he directed his gaze to an old-looking shed a little farther out on the premises. </p><p>"The last thing we need are more workers intent on playing hero. No reason to have the public learn the truth quite yet."</p><p>Erwin waited until Levi took hold of the lantern, and hung it on the blade end of the shovel. Once Levi held the aforementioned shovel across his shoulders, the two walked on back to their house. </p><p>For now, their sordid little secret would go undiscovered. </p><p>...</p><p>The first time that Armin saw the advertisement for a newly available apartment, he'd flipped right past it.</p><p>In fact, the only reason he'd flipped back to the page was to rip out the funnies and crossword sections for his roommates and friends. Even upon seeing it, he had to pinch himself about a dozen times to make sure. Once he knew beyond a doubt that it was real, Armin proceeded to call up the listed number.</p><p>In hindsight, he should probably have brought up the idea with Eren and Mikasa first. That way, perhaps he could have avoided having to drag Eren along with him to the car he had packed his things into. </p><p>"No, Armin! No!" Eren was crying out as he held on tight to Armin's leg. Mikasa walked behind them, looking down at him and rolling her eyes at the way he was carrying on. </p><p>"Armin, don't leave us, please! Who's gonna make cinnamon french toast the way we like them now?!" </p><p>"Eren stop," Mikasa told him now. "You're making a scene." Indeed, Eren was being so loud, that the neighbors came out to see what precisely was the reason for the commotion. She then bent over to carefully pry Eren off Armin. It took some effort, but she was able to do it. </p><p>"Let us know when you get settled in at your new place, all right?" She asked of Armin while hooking her arms under Eren's shoulders. Armin assured her that he would. </p><p>With that, Armin waved goodbye to his friends before getting into his car and heading off. </p><p>...</p><p>Even with the promise of food and board, and a decent paycheck, Erwin was a tad crestfallen at seeing the amount of responses he'd received. Or in this particular case, the lack of responses. He'd only received two, much to his chagrin.</p><p>Regardless, it was better than nothing. This way the expenses wouldn't be so impactful, if nothing else. </p><p>"Excuse me, Levi," he called out into the backyard, getting the shorter man's attention.</p><p>Levi stopped fiddling around with the cement mixer he'd been using, and glanced over while it poured its contents over the two new dirt piles from the other night. The two walked towards one another until meeting somewhere in the middle. </p><p>"It looks as if we will only need the small storage room for our new future employees," Erwin said to him while handing over the information he'd written down. "I suppose our reputation as a cursed establishment is becoming worse." </p><p>Taking the notes in hand, Levi quickly scanned them over, making sure he at least got the critical details. He then nodded a couple times and walked past Erwin, approaching the house. </p><p>Just as he was about to go in, however, Levi and Erwin were both caught off guard by the sound of squealing wheels. This horrible noise was followed by metal being crushed against a hard surface. </p><p>Running on over to the front of their home, both men were now gawking at the sight that awaited them. </p><p>...</p><p>"Uhhh..." Realizing that he'd somehow driven into a telephone pole, Connie tried playing it cool and carefully exiting his vehicle. Once he'd done so, he stepped to inspect the damage. "Hoo boy..." </p><p>Connie then looked around the area, hoping that nobody saw this little issue. Unfortunately, he caught sight of who seemed to be his new bosses. Breaking out in a bit of a cold sweat, he attempted to think up a believable excuse. </p><p>"Um..." He scratched the back of his head as he racked his brain for something, anything, that would make sense. </p><p>"It was like that when I got here." </p><p>If his wife Sasha were here, she'd probably have smacked him upside the head for that. </p><p>...</p><p>Later that afternoon, Armin made his appearance known to what he guessed was some kind of partly built mansion. It wasn't really what he expected for his new workplace, like at all. Even so, he shrugged and headed on in, trying to ignore the downed pole a few feet away. </p><p>"Excuse me?" He looked about for any sign of a human being. When he didn't see one, he carefully stepped in further and looked around. "Um, I'm here for the job you were advertising?" There was still no answer.</p><p>Now Armin stood awkwardly in the middle of the rather sizeable foyer. He kept looking about in case another inhabitant of the house was nearby, but nothing. After at least a few minutes (even though they felt like hours if not days), Armin was finally able to see a person coming down a staircase in front of him. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Had Levi not leaned over to take hold of the banister, he would probably not have been able to see Armin standing there in the foyer. When he did, he kept his hold of the aforementioned banister, and wobbled down the steps with a fairly large pile of freshly laundered bedsheets. </p><p>Or, at least it looked large to Armin, anyway. It was possible that it just seemed that way; Levi was a rather short man, as well (he looked to be even shorter than Armin, amazingly enough). That may have been the actual reason. He couldn't really think of any other reasons. </p><p>"Excuse me?" With the way Levi stopped so abruptly, Armin had a sense that he needed to hurry up and state what his business was. "Is the one who put in that ad in the paper available? I'm guessing whoever it was that'd written it would be my potential employer." </p><p>Levi slowly blinked at Armin for a few moments. He then turned in another direction and gestured with his head to follow him. Armin stayed a couple of paces away as he did so. Something about the man gave off a cold and unsettling aura, so Armin was probably going to lag behind anyway. </p><p>...</p><p>Erwin had just finished going over the rules with Connie when Levi returned with another one. </p><p>"Ah, hello," he started, beginning his speech for another go. "I'm pleased to have you join us. My assistant and I are enlisting help in-" He wasn't able to go on after this point; when Connie took a gander at the newcomer, his already bright and large eyes became rather wide. </p><p>"Dude! Armin!" Connie then proceeded to flail one of his arms in a rather exaggerated manner. In turn, Armin's eyes became a bit larger as well, practically sparkling in recognition. </p><p>"Connie!" The both of them then ran to one another, before reaching the other and hugging them. From there, it became more like Connie lifting Armin up off the ground to give him a bear hug. Then it was Armin being crushed by Connie's surprising amount of strength (or at least, surprising for such a little guy like Connie). </p><p>This whole time, Erwin and Levi just looked on at the spectacle. After watching for a few more seconds, Erwin cleared his throat to get their attention. </p><p>"Well then," he told the two young men after they broke their iron grip bear hug apart, "it would seem that you two are in no need of introductions." He turned to go, gesturing for Levi to put down the bedsheets that he was inexplicably still holding and follow him out. </p><p>...</p><p>"I can't believe you're right in front of me, Armin! It's been years!" </p><p>That night, in the barely lit sleeping quarters, Armin and Connie were in their pajamas, sitting cross legged on their beds and across from each other. Connie was beyond excited to see a familiar face. </p><p>Armin grinned and smiled. "I know. It's had to have been, what, since right after high school? After we all graduated, you ended up getting married and pretty much dropped off the grid." Here, Connie chuckled and scratched the back of his head, looking away as though completely embarrassed by this fact. </p><p>"Yeah, that sounds about right. If I remember right, Sasha and I ran right to the courthouse after commencement. Still had our caps and gowns on, even!" </p><p>He started laughing at that memory for a couple of moments, before he quieted down and his smile became more subdued. </p><p>"I still miss her." Hearing that, and it didn't take much of any time for Armin to realize what he was getting at.</p><p>"Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that." </p><p>Connie was about to wave it off and tell Armin not to be upset, but was then interrupted by a series of loud knocks. The way they sounded, it was probably done with the side of the fist. </p><p>Now both young men went completely silent, waiting to hear if someone was going to scold them. All they heard after that, though, were the sound of receding footsteps. </p><p>"I guess that means we have to go to sleep now," Armin whispered. </p><p>"Yeah," Connie whispered back, before turning off the small lamp on their shared nightstand and sliding under the bedcovers.</p><p>It didn't take long afterwards for the two of them to be en route to the land of sleep.</p><p>...</p><p>When he made certain all the lights in the large old mansion were off (and that their new workers were in bed for the night), Levi went down to the kitchen and started on his nightly errand. He'd done it so many times by now, there wasn't any need to turn on the ceiling lamp to put together the usual basket of bottled water and bread loaf.</p><p>However, he did realize he probably needed a source of light to get through the dark of the nighttime. When he grabbed and donned his outside cloak, Levi also picked up his trusty lantern in his free hand. Then he was off. </p><p>At this hour and time of year, there was something of a chill in the air. Levi tried to hold his cloak closed with the hand carrying the basket. It didn't really work; Levi was still a bit cold. </p><p>Even so, he continued on, until reaching the ancient and slightly run down shed on the edge of the property he and Erwin jointly owned. Looking back over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't somehow been followed (one never knew, anything could happen), Levi set his basket down and unlocked the shed door. </p><p>He made certain to be quick about it once he'd gotten inside. Levi wanted to get some sleep tonight, as well. </p><p>...</p><p>It wasn't until Armin woke up the next morning that he learned the hard way just how uncomfortable his new sleeping accommodations were. He could've sworn he forced his spine into a most painful and unfixable position just from laying down the wrong way. </p><p>"Good morning, Connie," he said while settling onto the side of the bed. </p><p>"Yeah, hi," was the absent-minded response. Armin looked over at Connie's bed, seeing him wide awake and sitting cross legged. Before him was a collection of various arts and crafts materials.</p><p>Connie looked to be hard at work, concentrating while he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth. Going by the pile of finished projects, he'd been at this for a while. Said projects also appeared to be long out of season, given the general color scheme: </p><p>"Are those Christmas ornaments?" Without looking up, Connie went "mm-hmm" while nodding.</p><p>"I started making them a little after Sasha got her diagnosis. Kind of helped me a lot, kept my mind occupied and junk." Here, he paused for a moment to check his progress on his current work (an angel made of felt he was sewing together), then continued. "At first I tried knitting or something like that, ya know, when Sash and I thought we were finally gonna be parents."</p><p>Again, Connie paused. His brow started to furrow, either in more intense concentration or a moment of forgetfulness. Armin did remember him having episodes of both in school. </p><p>"And..." Armin waited to see if Connie would tell him, then made his guess when he didn't respond. "She wasn't pregnant?"</p><p>Connie shook his head. "Turned out to be stage four ovarian cancer. She went downhill real quick after that.</p><p>"It is really, and I mean really, painful to watch a woman who loved eating completely lose her appetite."</p><p>Now Connie went back to sewing. "Can we talk about something else now? Talking about my dead wife is really bumming me out." Armin was just about to start discussing another topic, when he and Connie heard three loud knocks on the other side of the door. </p><p>"Sounds like that's our actual wake up call," Armin said instead. </p><p>...</p><p>Armin and Connie weren't really given a whole lot of instructions for their new jobs. What they were given were a few gardening tools and numerous bags of mulch. The implications were there, but there weren't any guidelines or to do lists. Both men really were on their own, here. </p><p>"Do you think there's some particular order they want us to go in? I feel like we should probably ask first before we do anything."</p><p>Armin glanced behind his shoulder when Connie didn't respond right away. </p><p>"Eh? You say something, Min?" As it turned out, Connie was already digging through the implements. To his credit, he did look up when he realized Armin spoke to him. When he did, though, he held up two of the same tool with a bag of mulch on his head. To this sight, Armin clapped a hand over his mouth to hide his giggling. </p><p>"What?" Connie didn't get the visual pun he was presenting right now. So, he just shrugged and handed Armin one of the hoes, to start tilling the ground that looked unused. </p><p>...</p><p>Outside, sitting on a pair of wood crates used as patio chairs,  Erwin and Levi sat and watched their new employees hard at work. </p><p>"I hope you reminded them of where on the property they're not to go," Erwin said to Levi. To his frustration, Levi said nothing in response; all he really did was sit rigidly like a statue and glare over at him, with only his eyes moving. Then he went back to watching the other two men at work. </p><p>Realizing what this meant, Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up. He then grabbed hold of his wrist behind his back, and approached Armin and Connie.</p><p>...</p><p>When the day was done, and evening came, Armin and Connie were pretty well spent. As it turned out, Erwin and Levi weren't too afraid of working the two near to the bone. </p><p>"This isn't too weird for you, is it?" Connie asked of Armin while the two of them were standing underneath the running shower. "I mean, showering with another guy you aren't related to-"</p><p>"It's fine," Armin cut him off then, but grinned to show he wasn't trying to be malicious or rude about it. "It's like back in high school. Except we don't have to get into dick measuring contests and no one hogs the soap." </p><p>Connie snorted. "Yeah. Remember that one really tall guy? I think we all called him Bert? Jeez, you ever see how much he used? You'd think the school budget had its own section just for him and all the shit he went through." Now Connie started counting off on his fingers. "Gym soap, school uniforms, a couple desks I think..."</p><p>Despite the indirect teasing of their old classmates, Armin chuckled. That was what they did until they were done showering and went to bed, talk about their high school years. </p><p>Neither of them were paying attention to the movement outside of the window, of Levi doing his nightly errand. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sometime during the night, Armin had unexpectedly awakened to the sound of... <em>something</em> outside.</p><p>To try and see what exactly it was, he sat up in bed and stared out the window. When he somehow made out a figure in the darkness some ways away on the property, he squinted to try and make out any details. <em>Whatever</em> it was, it moved awfully fast. Armin then crawled out from under the covers (while ignoring the soreness from the day's work) and tried to look more thoroughly. </p><p>"What the...?" A little while later, the sound of heavy stomping was heard above him, followed by Erwin's surprisingly loud voice. </p><p>"<em><strong>Levi</strong></em>!" The shouting caused Armin to flinch. "<em><strong>It's gotten out again! It's trying to escape the property!"</strong></em></p><p>While he listened to Erwin yelling, Armin looked over at Connie's bed, profoundly confused at how in the world he was able to sleep through all the ruckus. His confusion intensified when another set of footsteps rapidly descended the staircase and practically threw the back door open. </p><p>Now Armin's line of sight followed the glow of a lantern, as it was swiftly carried off towards where the unknown figure was first seen. Deciding he'd seen enough (and not wishing to risk being seen awake), Armin lay back down in bed. He did still hear Levi hollering out the demand to stop. </p><p>When Armin closed his eyes to get back to sleep, he could then hear something else crying out in what might have been pain. It continued on as it started to take on something vaguely resembling speech. </p><p>...</p><p>In the end, Armin didn't get much more sleep. All he could think about was what had transpired the night before. In stark contrast, Connie was sound asleep bordering on dead to the world. At this very moment, Armin sort of envied him for being able to achieve such a deep slumber. </p><p>"Connie," he said to him as he proceeded to try and shake him awake. "Connie, wake up. It's a new day, and we need to get ready to work." Connie responded by cutting one, much to Armin's displeasure and disgust. He tried waving it off as he resumed his efforts while holding his breath. </p><p>When Armin finally managed to get Connie awake, it was by grabbing hold of his ankle and literally dragging him out. And even then, Connie was still pretty out of it. He actually tried to kick Armin in the face because of it. </p><p>He did apologize for it later on, when he and Armin were trying to cook breakfast for Erwin and Levi.</p><p>...</p><p>"Have you made certain that it's locked up better this time? It won't break out as easily next time it tries?" Erwin whispered to Levi as they poked at the surprisingly delicious breakfast platter Connie had whipped up just for them. </p><p>To answer him, Levi glanced over at Erwin while sipping at a cup of herbal tea (and holding the teacup in a strange way), and nodded slowly. Erwin then tried to think of something else of importance regarding the topic at hand. </p><p>"And everything else is locked up as well?" Another curt nod. "And is-" </p><p>"All matters regarding that <em>thing </em>have been acknowledged and accounted for, Erwin," Levi said abruptly, staring ahead with a dark look on his face. </p><p>"That said," he went on as he set his now empty teacup down onto the table. "Were it to actually try again in the future -and I have no doubt it will-, I am <em>not</em> afraid to resort to fatal measures." Going by the tone of his voice (and from past experiences), Erwin knew full well that Levi wasn't at all kidding about that last part.  </p><p>...</p><p>"Hey, Connie? Can I ask you something?" Later on that afternoon, as the both of them were now washing dishes, Armin decided to try and bring up to Connie what he saw and heard early this morning. He had to wait a little before Connie stopped focusing on a particularly stubborn grease stain. "Connie!" </p><p>"Huh?" Connie took a moment to snap out of it. "Oh. Well, if it that's question, no. My favorite Golden Girl is Sophia. I dunno where my in-laws got Blanche from-"</p><p>"Connie! I haven't actually watched that show, so I can't give an accurate opinion. But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. See, last night or early this morning, did you-" Armin was cut off then by Erwin opening the door behind them, leading him to try and quick change the subject. </p><p>"Uhhh...Did you have a favorite episode of <em>Golden Girls</em>? If I ever decide to watch it when I have the time, I'd like to start off with a favorable impression of it."</p><p>Connie ended up raising an eyebrow at how quickly Armin ended up having to switch from something supposedly important to a less vital sounding one. Sophia really <em>was </em>his favorite Golden Girl, though. </p><p>Sasha's, too. </p><p>...</p><p>After a long day of tedious yard work, both Armin and Connie were in the bathroom once more. As they were trying to shower off all the dirt and sweat and other unpleasantness from the day, Armin decided to try and bring up the initial (and actual) topic he wanted to talk about. </p><p>"Connie, about earlier-"</p><p>"Eh? Oh. Personally, I wouldn't watch the spinoff. I dunno, I thought it was kind of lame."</p><p>Armin tried waving him off. "Not that. I wanted to ask you something else, but we got interrupted. I only asked about the other thing as a distraction." He tried to ignore Connie's disappointed "Aww..." and bring up what was really on his mind. </p><p>"Do you know if you could sit up with me tonight? Something's been bothering me..."</p><p>...</p><p>"So... What're we on watch for again, exactly?"</p><p>To say the least, Armin was grateful that Connie was at least willing to <em>try</em> and stay up with him for a while. </p><p>"I'm trying to find out if there's something not right in this place. It's really just a concern, but I want to know if there might be some truth to it, after all."</p><p>Connie would rather be asleep right now, but he also wanted to help Armin with whatever predicament he had right now. </p><p>"Okay...So what are we on the lookout for? And why's it gotta be so dark?" He tried to peek out the window, but Armin kept him from doing so. </p><p>"Anything, really. Just as long as it might be something you wouldn't expect to see at this hour. I turned the lights off so we don't arouse suspicion."</p><p>"I'm usually asleep by now, so that'd be a lot of things I wouldn't expect. And how'm I supposed to work on my Christmas decorations without a light on?"</p><p>Armin just stared at Connie with an expression that practically radiated annoyance. He was almost distracted to the point where he didn't see the flickering of a lantern turning on outside. When Armin <em>did</em> see it out of the corner of his eye, he was quick to run to the windowsill and peek right over it. Connie hesitated, then joined him. </p><p>"Hey, what's that?" Armin shushed him, and stared intently outside at the floating light, which was seemingly being carried by some unseen force. Their eyes followed it all the way to a supposedly ignored and neglected part of the property. </p><p>Once it disappeared for a while, the two of them waited for it to return. When it seemed as if it wasn't going to come back after a few minutes, they gave up and went to bed. </p><p>Tomorrow night, after planning things through more thoroughly, they'd have to keep an eye out for that mysterious lantern again. At the absolute very least, they had a vague idea of what time of night was best to keep watch. </p><p>...</p><p>Levi grumbled as he took the way back outside, through the dark corridor. He also let out a few curse words as he lifted his lantern up, to look down at the fresh bite mark left on his forearm. </p><p>Lately, he'd been having a more difficult time actually feeding it. It was beginning to fight against him when he started up. This time, he actually had to smack it in the head several times to get it to let go of him. </p><p>"Just for that," Levi said to it coldly while staring at it laying on its side on the ground, "I won't bother coming tomorrow. Maybe you'll learn to behave after going without eating and drinking for a little while." To prove he wasn't bluffing about any of this, Levi kicked it hard in the stomach and then spat on it.</p><p>It was still bellowing in muffled agony as he tied a fresh gag into its mouth (it chewed through the last one) and left the cell after locking it back up. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm trying to write longer chapters</p><p>Or something</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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